Hanumān

Hanumān is a great vānara (a forest-dwelling monkey-like being), the son of Añjanā and of Vāyu, the deva of the wind. His father in the household is Kesarī. He is the supreme devotee of Bhagavān Rāma and the hero of the Sundara Kāṇḍa of the Rāmāyaṇa.

His leap across the ocean to Laṅkā, his finding of Sītā in the Aśoka Vaṭikā, his burning of Laṅkā and his courage in the great war all helped Rāma win. So did his trip to bring the Sañjīvanī mountain and save the fallen. Many Purāṇas, the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata tell of him, and each adds its own account.

Divine origin: the creation of the vānaras

The Bāla Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa tells where Hanumān comes from. He was born from the aṃśa (divine portion) of Vāyu. This was part of the great creation of the vānaras that Brahmā commanded.

Bhagavān Viṣṇu had agreed to take birth as Rāma to destroy Rāvaṇa. Brahmā then told the devas, ṛṣis (seers) and celestial beings to father vānara warriors on apsarases (celestial women) and other divine women. Hanumān, born of Vāyu’s aṃśa, became the greatest of all these vānaras. He carried the full power of the cosmic wind in his body. His strength had no equal among the vānara heroes.

The Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa gives this in Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 17.

Identity and lineage

The Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 8, describes Hanumān as a vānarendra (a chief among vānaras) of great power and learning. He is the son of Añjanā. He was born of the power of Vāyu, through Añjanā’s union with Kesarī. As Vāyu’s son he has the breath’s speed, its subtlety and its reach into every place.

Hanumān served Sugrīva, the vānara king on the Ṛṣyamūka mountain, as minister and most trusted adviser. He knew all the śāstras and was a master of speech. Rāma himself saw this the moment Hanumān first spoke.

Meeting Rāma on Ṛṣyamūka

Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa came to the Pampā Sarovara, grieving for Sītā, who had been carried away. Sugrīva watched them from Ṛṣyamūka mountain. He feared they were spies sent by Vāli. He sent Hanumān to find out, in disguise.

Hanumān came down the mountain in the form of a bhikṣu (a wandering mendicant) and went up to the two princes. He spoke to them in Sanskrit of perfect form. His speech was eloquent and measured. His voice was set at the right pitch, neither too loud nor too soft. It had no fault of grammar. His words were in good order, and their meaning was clear.

Rāma listened and was deeply struck. He said to Lakṣmaṇa: “One who has not studied the Ṛgveda, the Yajurveda and the Sāmaveda cannot speak like this. There is no fault anywhere in his face, brow, eyes, forehead or limbs. His words come out rightly from the three places of voice, the chest, the throat and the head. He has mastered the whole science of grammar. Even an enemy ready for battle would put down his sword on hearing such speech. This is a true minister. A king who has such an envoy is fortunate indeed.”

Hanumān then made himself known. He said he was the son of Vāyu and the minister of the vānara king Sugrīva. He told them of Sugrīva’s situation and his wish for an alliance. Lakṣmaṇa then told Hanumān their own story. He spoke of the royal house of Daśaratha, the exile, the carrying away of Sītā, and Kabandha’s advice to seek Sugrīva. Hanumān was satisfied that the alliance was right. He took his true vānara form, lifted Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa onto his broad shoulders, and carried them up to Ṛṣyamūka in a single bound.

The Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa tells this in Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 3–4. The Agni Purāṇa gives it in Chapter 8.

The alliance sealed before Agni

On Ṛṣyamūka, Hanumān brought the princes to Sugrīva. Rāma and Sugrīva greeted each other and opened their hearts. Then Hanumān did the deciding act. He took two dry branches and quickly made fire by rubbing them together. He placed the blazing flame between the two kings.

Rāma and Sugrīva each clasped the other’s hand and walked around the fire. With Agni deva as witness, they became mitra (friends) in the oldest sacred way of the tradition. The alliance that would change the course of the universe was made, and Hanumān had lit the fire. (Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa, Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 5)

Role in the coronation of Sugrīva

Vāli died and his funeral was done. Hanumān then stepped forward and asked Rāma to let Sugrīva be taken into Kiṣkindhā and crowned. Rāma himself would not enter the city, because he was bound by his father’s command. He left the arrangements to Lakṣmaṇa.

Hanumān, with Gaja, Gavākṣa, Gavaya, Śarabha, Gandhamādana, Mainda, Dvivida, Jāmbavān, Nala and the chief vānaras, carried out the full Vedic coronation. They poured the sacred waters over Sugrīva from golden vessels, as the devas crown Indra. (Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa, Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 25–26)

Counsel to Sugrīva in grief

After Vāli’s death, Sugrīva was overcome at the sight of his dead brother. He spoke of giving up the world. Hanumān then spoke words of dharma to Sugrīva and to Tārā. He said: “Grief is natural, but it consumes what it touches. The duties ahead are very large. Vāli himself asked you to fulfil Rāma’s mission. Honour his last words.”

With this counsel Hanumān steadied the hearts of the grieving vānaras and kept the mission on course. (Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa, Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa, Chapter 24; Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 8)

Rāma killed Vāli, and Sugrīva was crowned king of Kiṣkindhā. Sugrīva gathered the great vānara army. He sent search parties in all four directions and gave them one month to find Sītā.

The south is the direction of Laṅkā, and Hanumān was given the south. He carried Rāma’s ring as a sign by which Sītā would know him. His party travelled south. On the Vindhya mountain all the others fell into despair, having failed. There the old bird Sampāti, elder brother of the dead Jaṭāyu, told them that Sītā was held captive in Laṅkā, one hundred yojanas (a measure of distance) across the ocean. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 8)

The ocean leap

Hanumān looked at the hundred yojanas of ocean before him. He had mostly forgotten his own superhuman nature. The elder Jāmbavān reminded him of his divine powers. Reassured, Hanumān climbed Mahendra mountain and grew his body to the size of a mountain. With a mighty leap he launched himself over the sea toward Laṅkā.

Three things stood in his way on the crossing.

  • Maināka mountain rose from the ocean to offer him rest. This was a mark of gratitude from the mountain that Vāyu had saved long before. Hanumān did not stop.
  • Surasa, mother of the nāgas, blocked his path as a divine test. Hanumān beat her by wit. He became thumb-sized and went into her mouth and out again.
  • Siṃhikā, a rākṣasī who catches shadows, seized his shadow and tried to swallow him. Hanumān went into her body and destroyed her vital organs.

He came down on the northern shore of Laṅkā. He made his body as small as a cat so that he could move through the city unseen. Laṅkinī, the divine guardian of the city gate, challenged him. He beat her with a single blow. She knew that Brahmā’s prophecy had come true, and she let him pass.

The Agni Purāṇa gives this in Chapter 9, and the Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa in Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 1–4.

Finding Sītā

Hanumān searched every corner of Laṅkā. He looked in Rāvaṇa’s inner rooms, in the houses of Kumbha, Kumbhakarṇa, Vibhīṣaṇa and Indrajit, and in the drinking halls and gardens. Sītā was nowhere. He then entered the Aśoka Vaṭikā and climbed the Śiṃśupā tree.

From there he saw her. She sat under the tree in white clothes, surrounded by rākṣasīs. She was thin with grief and refused every temptation Rāvaṇa had put before her. Hanumān saw Rāvaṇa’s visits at night and Sītā’s firm refusals. She placed a blade of grass between herself and the king. He also saw the dream of Trijatā, which foretold Rāma’s victory. Trijatā told it to silence the threatening rākṣasīs and to comfort Sītā.

After Rāvaṇa left, Hanumān came down, made himself known, and showed Rāma’s signet ring as proof. Sītā gave him the Cūḍāmaṇi, her crest-jewel, as a sign for Rāma. Indra had first given it to her father Janaka. She refused Hanumān’s offer to carry her away. She said Rāma must come as a conqueror.

The Agni Purāṇa gives this in Chapter 9, and the Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa in Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 5–38.

Battle in Laṅkā and the burning of the city

Hanumān then destroyed the Pramadā Vana on purpose. He pulled up trees and broke buildings. He killed eighty thousand kiṅkaras (servants of Rāvaṇa), Jambumāli the son of Prahasta, seven sons of ministers, five generals, and finally Akṣa Kumāra, a dear son of Rāvaṇa.

Indrajit caught him with the Brahmāstra. Hanumān let himself be taken, because he wished to see Rāvaṇa in court. Prahasta questioned him, and he was brought before Rāvaṇa. There Hanumān gave Rāma’s message plainly: free Sītā or be destroyed.

Rāvaṇa ordered him to be killed. Vibhīṣaṇa stepped in and spoke of dūta-dharma, the rule that protects messengers. Rāvaṇa gave way. He ordered instead that Hanumān’s tail be set on fire and that he be paraded through Laṅkā.

Sītā prayed to Agni, and the flames felt cool to Hanumān. He broke free and used his burning tail to set the city ablaze. He burned all the main rākṣasa palaces and spared only the house of Vibhīṣaṇa. He put out his tail, went back to make sure Sītā was safe, since the fire had not touched her, and leaped back over the ocean.

On Mahendra mountain he met the search party again, and they were full of joy. He spoke the words that changed their mood.

Dṛṣṭā Sītā

These words mean “Sītā has been seen.”

At Kiṣkindhā he put the Cūḍāmaṇi in Rāma’s hands. He told Rāma Sītā’s whole message, including the story of the crow Jayanta, which she gave as a sign for Rāma to know her words were true.

The Agni Purāṇa gives this in Chapter 9, and the Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa in Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 40–68.

The great battle

In the war at Laṅkā, Hanumān fought with great courage. He killed the rākṣasa Dhūmrākṣa with a mountain peak.

The nāgāstra. Indrajit used the nāgāstra (a serpent weapon) while fighting unseen. It bound Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and the whole vānara army in serpent coils, and they lay as if dead. Only the coming of Garuḍa broke the power of the nāgāstra and brought them back. (Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 44–46)

The Oṣadhi Parvata. A greater danger came when Indrajit bound Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa with the Brahmāstra after his Nikumbhilā ritual. Jāmbavān, though badly wounded himself, sent Hanumān to the Oṣadhi Parvata in the Himālayas. The herbs hid themselves by māyā (illusion), and Hanumān could not tell which they were. He pulled up the whole mountain and carried it to Laṅkā. Suṣeṇa knew the herbs and applied them. Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and hundreds of fallen vānaras came back to life. Hanumān then took the mountain back to its place in the Himālayas. (Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 88)

The second mission. In the last part of the war, Rāvaṇa’s śakti weapon struck Lakṣmaṇa. Suṣeṇa told Hanumān to bring one herb, the Viśalyakaraṇī, from the Oṣadhi Parvata. Hanumān made the round trip, and Lakṣmaṇa was healed before Rāvaṇa could press his advantage. (Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 102)

After the victory. Rāma honoured Hanumān with the pearl necklace from Sītā’s neck. Sītā took it off herself and put it in Hanumān’s hands. Rāma spoke of Hanumān before the whole assembly. He said that Hanumān’s devotion, strength and wisdom had made the entire mission possible. At Rāma’s request Indra sent down amṛta (the drink of life) to bring all the fallen warriors back to life. (Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 123 and 131)

Mission to Bharata at Nandigrāma

Before leaving Laṅkā for the return to Ayodhyā, Śrī Rāma sent Hanumān ahead. Hanumān was to tell Bharata that Rāma was coming. He was also to learn Bharata’s state of mind. Bharata had waited fourteen years with Rāma’s pādukās (sandals) on the throne, and Rāma wished to know whether he would be willing to give back the kingdom.

Hanumān reached Nandigrāma in the form of a brahmin and went up to Bharata. Bharata was thin, dressed in bark, with matted hair. Fourteen years of unbroken tapas (austerity) and longing for Rāma had changed his face. Hanumān’s news changed Bharata in an instant. Tears flowed freely, and Bharata held Hanumān to his chest. He then began all the preparations for Rāma’s return to Ayodhyā.

This mission is told in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa. It was not a feat of strength. It was an act of pure devotion, and one of Hanumān’s most tender services. (Valmiki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapter 128; Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 10)

Birth on the Añjana mountain: the Brahma Purāṇa

The Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Mahā Purāṇa (Chapter 14) gives another account of Hanumān’s birth. It is set on the southern bank of the Gautamī, near Brahmagiri.

On the Añjana mountain, on the southern bank of the Gautamī beside Brahmagiri, two celestial women lived. They had fallen to earth through a śāpa (a curse). Añjanā, whose face looked like that of a monkey, was the wife of Kesarī. Adrikā, also under a śāpa, had the face and head of a cat. She too lived on the Añjana mountain as a second wife of Kesarī.

Once, when Kesarī had gone to the southern sea, the ṛṣi Agastya came to the Añjana mountain. Añjanā and Adrikā received him with devoted pūjā. Agastya was very pleased and offered them a vara (a boon). They said: “O chief of the ṛṣis, give us two sons, stronger than all others and most excellent, who will help the whole world.” Agastya said “So be it” and went south.

Some time later, Añjanā and Adrikā were singing, dancing and laughing on the mountaintop. Two devas, Vāyu and Nirṛti, saw them and were overcome by desire. They came forward and said: “We are devas, givers of boons. Be our wives.” The women agreed, and they enjoyed themselves together on the mountain. Hanumān was born of Añjanā and Vāyu. A king of the piśācas named Adri was born of Adrikā and Nirṛti.

The women then told the devas: “Sons are born to us by the vara of the ṛṣi. But our forms are ugly. Our heads and faces are spoiled by Indra’s śāpa.” Vāyu and Nirṛti answered: “When you bathe in the Gautamī, you will be freed from the śāpa.” The two glad devas then vanished.

For the sake of his brother Hanumān, Adri, who had the form of a piśāca, took Añjanā, Hanumān’s mother, and bathed her in the Gautamī. In the same way Hanumān took Adri, who had a cat’s form, to the Gaṅgā and then to the banks of the Gautamī. From then on that holy place was called the Paiśāca Tīrtha, and also the Añjana Tīrtha. It lies near the mountain of Brahmā. It is auspicious and gives all that one desires. (Brahma Mahā Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 14)

At Gautama’s āśrama: singing and the joy of Bhagavān Śiva

The Pātāla Khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa tells of the Tryambaka āśrama. Hanumān came to the āśrama of the ṛṣi Gautama on the bank of the Gaṅgā and began to sing. Bhagavān Śiva was there, with Bhagavān Viṣṇu, who was enjoying water sports. Hanumān’s singing had such great devotional power that Bhagavān Śiva was filled with joy beyond measure.

Moved by the song, Bhagavān Śiva mounted Hanumān as his vehicle and rode him as one rides an elephant or a bull. This was a divine honour. The devotee, in the joy of bhakti (devotion), became the carrier of Bhagavān Śiva.

Bhagavān Viṣṇu watched this and offered his praise to the feet of Bhagavān Śiva as they rested on Hanumān. Hanumān then offered arcana (ritual worship) to the liṅga, the sacred form of Bhagavān Śiva. The devotee’s singing moved Bhagavān Śiva, Bhagavān Śiva honoured the devotee by mounting him, and the devotee then worshipped Bhagavān Śiva’s own form. The Padma Purāṇa shows Hanumān here as the devotee of Rāma and also as the one who brings Bhagavān Śiva to joy. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 114)

The Viṣṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa: birth, name and vara

The Viṣṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Chapter 223, tells of Hanumān’s birth and how he got his name.

As an infant, Hanumān looked up from the earth and saw the sun rising. He wished to eat it and leaped straight up into the sky. Near the sun he saw Rāhu, who causes eclipses. He left the sun and chased Rāhu instead. Rāhu was afraid and ran to Indra for shelter. Indra saw the infant coming after him and struck him with his vajra (thunderbolt). The blow fell on the infant’s hanu (jaw), and he fell to the earth.

Vāyu was furious that his son had been struck. He withdrew his breath from all three worlds. Without air, all beings in the three worlds began to gasp and die.

Brahmā understood what had happened. He went with all the devas to Vāyu and begged him to give breath back to the world. To calm Vāyu, Brahmā himself gave Hanumān the vara of ajara-amara-tva, freedom from old age and death, and also ajeyatva, the state of being unconquerable. All the devas, together with Sūrya, each gave him new strength every month. Vāyu was then satisfied and let breath flow again in the three worlds.

The infant’s jaw had been struck by the vajra, and it was seen as most worthy of praise. For this reason Brahmā named him Hanumān, from hanu, jaw. The name means “one whose remarkable jaw stood against even Indra’s thunderbolt.”

In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa: Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa

Recognition by voice. In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumān knows Rāma by his voice alone, before any formal introduction. Hanumān was in the form of a brahmin and asked his questions. When Rāma answered, the sound of the words was enough for Hanumān to see through every veil. He dropped his disguise and fell at Rāma’s feet. He spoke the famous Avadhi verse:

Tava māyā basa phiravau bhulānā, tā te maiṃ nahiṃ prabhu pahicānā

It means: “Wandering bewildered under the spell of your own māyā, I did not know you, my master. Forgive this servant.” He asked how it could be right for the master of the universe to question his own devotee as if he were a stranger.

Rāma’s words: dearer than Lakṣmaṇa a hundred times over. Rāma lifted Hanumān up and embraced him with tears of love. He said: “Hanumantā, you are a hundred times dearer to me than Saumitrī.” Rāma then explained that he is the same to all beings. Yet those who love him with ananya-bhakti, single-pointed devotion, become the dearest to him. No fault comes to such a devotee from one moment of not knowing him.

Hanumān’s counsel to Sugrīva. During the rains Sugrīva gave himself up to pleasure and forgot Rāma’s mission. Hanumān was the first to see this failure of duty. He could not bear it. He went to Sugrīva and spoke with a gentle but firm rebuke: “O king of the vānaras, it is not right to neglect Rāma’s mission like this. You got what you needed by Rāma’s grace, and now you forget your duty. This cannot be forgiven. Set the search in motion now, before it is too late.” This rebuke led to Sugrīva’s true repentance.

Jāmbavān wakes Hanumān. At the southern shore of the ocean, all the others spoke of their limits. Jāmbavān turned to Hanumān and said: “O Āñjaneya, you are equal to your father Vāyu in strength and courage. What task in this world is beyond you? You were born to serve Rāma. Why do you sit silent?”

These words struck Hanumān like lightning. His hidden power rose up. His body grew like a mountain, and he roared like a lion. He said that he would cross the ocean and complete Rāma’s mission. The Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa ends with this awakening, Hanumān’s sphūrti, the moment when the power that had been asleep in him was called back to his mind.

Rāma’s private instructions. Before the search party left, Rāma called Hanumān aside and put his signet ring in his hand. He gave him a private charge: “Find Sītā, comfort her, tell her of my grief and my power, assure her that I will come for her, and return safely.” This charge, apart from the general orders given to all, shows Hanumān as the one servant whom Rāma trusted fully with his most personal message. (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa)

In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa: Sundara Kāṇḍa

Crossing the ocean and entering Laṅkā. In the Tulasī account, Hanumān’s leap is full of devotion. Surasa, mother of the nāgas, tests him. He beats Siṃhikā. He meets Laṅkinī at the gate. Inside Laṅkā he finds the house of Vibhīṣaṇa. He knows it by the name of Rāma written on it and by the sounds of Viṣṇu-stotra (hymns of praise) from inside. It stands apart from the rest of the rākṣasa city. He enters the Aśoka Vaṭikā and finds Sītā under the Śiṃśupā tree.

The message and the Cūḍāmaṇi. Hanumān watches Rāvaṇa threaten Sītā and then leave. Hanumān comes down and drops Rāma’s signet ring before Sītā, who was about to end her life. He makes himself known and gives Rāma’s message of love and resolve. Sītā gives him the Cūḍāmaṇi as a sign. She refuses his offer to carry her over the ocean. She gives him her last message, including the story of the crow Jayanta, so that Rāma will know her words.

Destroying the garden and being captured. Hanumān destroys the Pramadā Vana and kills Akṣa Kumāra, the son of Rāvaṇa. Indrajit captures him with the Brahmāstra. In Rāvaṇa’s court Hanumān gives Rāma’s direct warning. Rāvaṇa orders his death. Vibhīṣaṇa speaks of dūta-dharma and gets the sentence changed to the burning of the tail.

The burning of Laṅkā. Sītā’s prayer to Agni makes the fire cool on Hanumān’s tail. He leaps from palace to palace and sets all of Laṅkā on fire. He spares only the house of Vibhīṣaṇa, which he passes by on purpose, honouring the one righteous rākṣasa. He puts out his tail in the ocean and returns to see that Sītā is safe before he leaves.

Return and presenting the Cūḍāmaṇi. Hanumān crosses the ocean back and leads the search party to Madhu Vana. He then goes back to Śrī Rāma with the Cūḍāmaṇi and Sītā’s whole message. Rāma takes the jewel as he would take Sītā herself and presses it to his heart. Hanumān’s presence and counsel then steady the army as it moves south toward the ocean shore. (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa)

In the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa: Laṅkā Kāṇḍa

Kālanemi. Rāvaṇa sent Kālanemi, a rākṣasa who works by māyā, to block Hanumān’s journey to fetch the Sañjīvanī herb for the wounded Lakṣmaṇa. Kālanemi had been a Gandharva and was born again as a rākṣasa through a śāpa of Durvāsa. He took the form of an ascetic in a false āśrama by a lake. Hanumān went to drink and was attacked by a crocodile. The crocodile was a cursed apsarā, freed by Hanumān’s touch. She told him who Kālanemi really was. Hanumān went back and killed Kālanemi with one blow.

The mission to Droṇādri. Hanumān could not find the right herbs on the mountain, so he pulled up the whole Droṇādri mountain and carried it on his shoulder to Laṅkā. On the way he passed over Ayodhyā in the dark of night. Bharata saw a huge shadow and shot Hanumān with an arrow. Hanumān fell, crying “Hā Rāmā!” Bharata knew him and understood what was happening. He set Hanumān on an arrow in a palanquin and sent him at once to Laṅkā. The glow of the herbs on Droṇādri brought the whole fallen vānara host back to life before Hanumān even landed.

Ahirāvaṇa and Makaradhvaja. Ahirāvaṇa carried Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa away to Pātāla for a ritual. Hanumān went down into the underworld. At the gate he met Makaradhvaja, his own son, born from his sweat that a fish had swallowed during the ocean crossing. Hanumān beat him in combat, with love but firmly. He then entered the city hidden in a flower garland. He found that Ahirāvaṇa’s prāṇas (life-breaths) were kept in five lamps. He put out all five at once and killed him. He freed Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and crowned Makaradhvaja king of Pātāla.

News for Sītā. After the crowning of Vibhīṣaṇa in Laṅkā, Rāma sent Hanumān to tell Sītā of Rāvaṇa’s death and of Vibhīṣaṇa’s rule. The rākṣasas of Vibhīṣaṇa’s court took Hanumān to Sītā. She knew him from far off and asked about Rāma’s welfare. Hanumān told her all the news. Sītā wept for joy and blessed him richly.

Sent ahead to Ayodhyā. On the way home, Rāma sent Hanumān ahead from the Triveṇī Saṅgama to tell Bharata and the queens that they were coming back safely. (Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Laṅkā Kāṇḍa)

In the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa: Manohara Khaṇḍa

The mantra whispered in the right ear

The Manohara Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa (Chapter 7) tells what Bhagavān Rāma did before sending Hanumān to Laṅkā to find Sītā. He leaned close and whispered “Śrīrāma”, the Rāmanāma, straight into Hanumān’s right ear. This was a guru’s mantra-dīkṣā (initiation into a mantra) in the traditional way, since the right ear is the ear that receives a mantra from a guru. Rāma thus stood as Hanumān’s guru, and Hanumān as his initiated disciple. The Rāmanāma gave Hanumān the highest protection for the dangerous mission to Laṅkā.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa marks this as the first example of the Kāśī tāraka mantra. At Kāśī, Bhagavān Śiva whispers the Rāmanāma into the right ear of every dying person to give them mokṣa (liberation). That practice begins with this act of Rāma whispering his own name into Hanumān’s right ear before the Laṅkā mission.

Ekādaśa Rudra identity: Śiva himself

In the Manohara Khaṇḍa (Chapter 16), Garuḍa tells who the vānara warriors really are. Each of the eleven chief vānaras is one of the Ekādaśa Rudras (the Eleven Rudras). The ten lesser vānaras are the ten lesser Rudra forms. Sugrīva is Vīrabhadra and Nala is Śambhu. Hanumān, the first among them, is Bhagavān Śiva himself, the supreme Mahārudra from whom all the other Rudras come.

The Eleven Rudras took birth as vānaras to cure the epidemic diseases that arose from the Samudramanthana (the churning of the ocean). Brahmā gave them great varas for this work. Hanumān is Bhagavān Śiva himself, so his service to Rāma, the Vaiṣṇava avatāra (descent of Bhagavān Viṣṇu), is the devotion of Bhagavān Śiva. Hanumān is also worshipped for protection from disease and epidemics, because he took vānara birth for this purpose.

Arjuna’s banner at Dhanuṣkoṭi

The last sarga (section) of the Manohara Khaṇḍa (Chapter 18) tells the well-known event at Dhanuṣkoṭi-Rāmeśvara. Arjuna argued that Rāma had no need of a stone bridge and that a bridge of arrows would have been enough. Hanumān challenged Arjuna to build one. Arjuna built it, and Hanumān broke it with a touch of his toe.

Kṛṣṇa then stepped in, in the form of a vaṭu (a young brahmin boy). He put the Sudarśana Cakra under a new arrow-bridge. Hanumān found that he could not break it. Kṛṣṇa then showed himself as Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, one divine being across two yugas.

Hanumān then made his offer. He would stay on Arjuna’s chariot as the dhvaja (banner) in the Mahābhārata war. The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa gives this as the reason why Arjuna’s chariot at Kurukṣetra carried the monkey banner. Hanumān’s divine presence on the banner added his great power, his roar and his protection to every battle Arjuna fought.

In the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa: Pūrṇa Khaṇḍa

Role in the battle of Hastināpura

In the last days of Rāmarājya, the Somavarṃśa kings marched on Hastināpura. Hanumān was the great healer of Rāma’s forces through the six months of battle. He stayed near the battlefield with herbs from Droṇācala. Again and again he revived fallen soldiers of Rāma’s army, as he had done at Laṅkā. The dead of the Candravaṃśa side could not be revived and simply faded away.

The duels of astras (divine weapons) reached their peak when Hanumān did a remarkable thing. Nādyuka called up the Āgneyāstra. Lava answered with the Meghāstra. Laghuśruta then used the Pavanavāstra against the rain clouds. Hanumān swallowed the whole wind with his wide-open mouth and so stopped the attack. (Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Pūrṇa Khaṇḍa, Chapter 3)

The farewell and the navaratna hāra

After peace was made with the Somavarṃśa kings, Rāmacandra gave Hanumān a deep farewell on the banks of the Gaṅgā. Rāma told him: “My child, live in happiness. In the Dvāpara there will be a wager between you and Arjuna about the bridge. When Arjuna builds his arrow-bridge, you will meet me again. Until then, go to the Himālayas and do tapas in remembrance of me.”

As Hanumān got ready to leave, Rāma took the navaratna hāra (the garland of nine gems) from his own neck and put it round Hanumān’s neck. Sītā gave Hanumān a pair of arm ornaments, bāhubhūṣaṇas, from her own arms. Hanumān wept, with tears in his eyes, and bowed before Rāmacandra. He walked around Rāma with deep respect and left quickly for the Himālayas to do tapas.

This farewell ends the Tretā Yuga part of Hanumān’s direct service to Rāma on earth. It also fits the Dvāpara meeting that the Manohara Khaṇḍa has already told, in the Arjuna and Dhanuṣkoṭi event. (Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Pūrṇa Khaṇḍa, Chapter 5)

The Mahābhārata: meeting Bhīma on Gandhamādana

The Mahābhārata, Vana Parva (Chapters 149–155), tells this during the Pāṇḍavas’ exile in the forest. Hanumān appeared to Bhīma in the kadalīkhaṇḍa (banana grove) of Gandhamādana. He looked like an old, huge monkey lying across the forest path. Bhīma tried with all his strength, equal to ten thousand elephants, but could not lift the monkey’s tail. He humbled himself and asked who this was. Hanumān said he was the son of Vāyu and Bhīma’s elder brother. The two brothers, sons of the same father Vāyu, embraced with great joy. (Vana Parva, Chapter 149)

At Bhīma’s request, Hanumān told the story of Rāma in brief. He spoke of the carrying away of Sītā, the crossing of the ocean, the burning of Laṅkā, the defeat of Rāvaṇa and Rāma’s return. Bhīma then asked to see the huge form in which Hanumān had crossed the ocean. Hanumān grew until he filled the forest and shone with a divine light that Bhīma’s eyes could not bear. He said that each yuga has its own proper sizes, and that his Tretā form could not be kept in the Dvāpara. (Vana Parva, Chapter 150)

Hanumān then gave a full teaching on the dharma of the four yugas: Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali. He taught the right practice for each age, the form of Bhagavān Viṣṇu in each age, and how much dharma remains. This teaching set Bhīma within the Dvāpara and prepared him for the brave deeds of Kurukṣetra. (Vana Parva, Chapters 149–151)

Finally Hanumān gave Bhīma a vara. In the great war to come, he would ride on Arjuna’s flag, the Kapidhvaja (the monkey-flag), and add his roar to Bhīma’s battle cry. The enemy would be filled with terror beyond nature. This vara came true at Kurukṣetra. (Vana Parva, Chapter 152)

Sources

  • Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 8–10
  • Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 114
  • Brahma Mahā Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 14
  • Viṣṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 223
  • Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 17
  • Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 1–27
  • Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 1–68
  • Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Yuddha Kāṇḍa, Chapters 37–131
  • Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa
  • Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kāṇḍa
  • Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa, Laṅkā Kāṇḍa
  • Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Manohara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 7, 16, 18
  • Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Pūrṇa Khaṇḍa, Chapters 3, 5
  • Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 149–155